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Outside of his practice as a physiatrist - a physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation - he serves as President of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA). He’s the youngest president in its 140-year history; also the first physiatrist and first Ismaili in this role.
“The first is member advocacy. We are currently in discussions with the government about physician remuneration. The second is health system stakeholder engagement, figuring out how, moving forward, we can create and transform our healthcare system to better respond to the needs of patients,” explains Dr. Kassam. “The third is OMA modernization. What that means is streamlining our organization to better serve our membership, and that’s an ongoing process but has been implemented this year starting with my presidency and this new board of directors that we have.”
Adding to his long list of responsibilities is navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic, which has altered healthcare systems entirely.
“Operating rooms were shut down. Physiotherapy gyms, like the ones that my patients use at the rehab hospital that I’m at, were reorganized into covid wards and units,” says Dr. Kassam. “That amounted to almost 16 million points of care over the past 18 months that have been delayed. That’s everything from diagnostic procedures to medical procedures and surgeries. Also access to things like primary health care teams and mental health services.”
Dr. Kassam and his wife, who is also a doctor, helped set up pop-up vaccination clinics around Toronto.
“We are most focused as a profession on getting as many people vaccinated as possible,” says Dr. Kassam. “We know this is our way out of the pandemic. That’s on the prevention side of the pandemic.”
Even as the pressure mounts, Dr. Kassam can see a silver lining.
“Health is wealth. Being healthy but also being in an environment or living in a system or in a society that cares for each other and some of the most marginalized patients that we have, that has been a steep learning curve for the Canadian Jamat, and the Canadian society at large,” he says. “We have an opportunity to make sure that our healthcare system is better enabled in the future to deliver higher quality healthcare in a timely way and in an equitable way.”
Dr. Kassam’s advice to Ismaili doctors is to apply their skills and lifelong volunteer experience in leadership roles for various organizations.
“They have such an incredible amount of collective talent, wisdom, expertise, and I think energy to serve. Certainly, serving the Jamat and the community has always been part of our upbringing as Ismailis,” says Dr. Kassam. “All of these skills they have would make them natural leaders in a lot of these organizations and I encourage them to get involved with those types of organizations to make a difference.
By Zayn Jinah
Profiles in Leadership highlights members of the Jamat playing significant leadership roles in civil society.
